Offset disk harrow



y 6, 3946. A. E. RUTTERQ 2%4252' owsm DISK HARROW fined Jan. 8,1942 2 snee-t -sheet 1 Edy 16, 1946. A. E. RUTTER fi OFFSET DISK HARROW Filed Jan. 8, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fl/A a/i E Buffer,

' vawe/WW0 Patented July 16,1946

UNITED STATES OFFICE OFFSET DISK H'AR'ROW Alvah- E. Butter, Rockford, Il-l.,fassignor to: J. I. CaseCompany, Racine, Wis, a corporation Application January 8, 1942', Serial No. 426,081

need. for adiustmg them to make a; convenient turn. at. the end of a row without: imposing too great a load on the tractor. They must. also be conveniently adjusted into closed. retracted: or non-working position so that-they maybe drawn over sod. or' a, roadway without detrimental cut ting of the ground.

to the: cross-bar H. draw bar has a. series ofhol'es l5 for adjustably holdinga link 16.. The front end of the link l'thas a series of adjusting holes: ll through one: of which passes a vertical It is an: object of my invention. to provide a 7 disk harrow of the gang type which will follow a tractor but offset at one side: without material lateral pull.

It is a further object of my invention to provide. such a; gan harrow' with. means so. that merely by backing the tractor the sections of the narrow will be caused to close or collapse into a position to trail behind the tractor without harrowing.

It is also an object of. my invention-to effect such a, closing movement of'the-secfions into nonworking: trailing: positions when the tractor makes a turn to the right.

A still further object of. my invention is to establish a floating connection. between the sections so that a. closing movement of the two is effected when the tractor makes a. turn to the right.

As illustrating the preferred formof my invention and by way of example only, I have shown it in the accompanying drawings where Fig. 1 is a plan view of my improved ofiset disk harrow in open" or working position;

Fig. 2. is a plan view of the harrow in closed or retracted. position- The drawings show the gang disk harrow arranges; to permit making a right: hand; turn with facilities for collapsing or closing the sections of the harrow either during such a turning movement or when the equipment is transported wi'thout harrowing. They also illustrate the control of the rear gang.

pin l'8:.. This pin l'8 may" thus be adjustedi in any one ofthe holes I5" of the draw bar I l.

The rear end. of' the link I6. is pivotally connected' as at l9 tothe front bar. 211 of the. front frame. Intermediate the rear end of the draw bar It and the frontfra-me there is an arm 2r. This arm is. pivoted at 22 to the front bar 20. The. arm 21: and: draw bar M are pivotall y connected: at 23.

The leftend' of the front frame 20 has a track 2'4 curved at its: forward end and carrying. a. sliding traveller or carrier 25. The traveller Z5 is connected by an arcuate link 26' to the end of the amt 2|". The arm 21: servesas a lever having its fulcrum at the point 23'' and serving to draw the front frame l2 through arm Zl and therear frame 13 throughthe arcuate link 26.

Across the. rear frame member 21' of the front frame If there is an angular metal beam or plate member 28. This has seriesof vertically aligned holes 24%. The. front cross-member 30 of the rear frame I at its corresponding left end has an upperplate 3] and a lower plate 32 (see Fig; 6). These: plates? 3:1 and: 3 2: have aligned holes 3'3 through which a; pin 34: passes; The plates- 31 and: 32 straddle; the beam 28: so that the pin 34 may be fitted in any one out the holes 29 of the beam 28;. This arrangement efiectivel y maintains the rear frame 13'? in a plane common with the frontframe I12 and withstands the torsional stresses from the trailing ends. of the front. and

' rear gangs- It also equalizes the extent to which Ihave shown the rear cross-bar H of" a tractor by which the gang harrow islbeing operated. The front frame ll of. the narrow is connected to the rear frame [3 in, a manner which will be described. Between the front frame l2 and the the-disks: of each game may' penetrate the dirt.

It will: be apparent that the degree of offset of both gangs respect to the tractor and it's draw' bar H will be. determined by theadjustment of the link IS on the draw bar; The front frame l2: will. be drawn jointly by the link l-fi'and the arm 21. The arm Zl' also serves at its free end o assist in drawing the rear frame or gang t3- through the arcuate link 26' and the extension bar 35. This extension bar is pivoted to the traveller 25 in the front and; which. thus becomes a floating pivot between link 26 and extension bar 35 The latter has a slotted end ivotally connected to a lzvracket- It? on. the rear corner of the frame i3 opposite plate a l. The rear frame l3- has an ex" tension 38 for the usual purpose of added rigidity and carrying additional weights when it isd'esired cross-bar of: the: tractor is. a draw bar 14- plvoted to have the: disks cut more deeply into the soii'.

. .quently the depth 'of cutting the soil.

to a convenient point on the tractor thus enabling the operator to release the latch at will.

In the straight forward movement of the gang harrow the front gang I2 is drawn as previously described by the draw bar, the link I 6 and the arm 2|. This results in a drift of the gang I2 to'a point offset and to the right ofthe tractors line of travel or path.

4 gang l2 and thence to the right to an intermediate point 48 on the pivoted arm 2|.

During forward travel of the harrow, chain 46 is slack. When the tractor makes a turn to the right, however, the chain 46 tightens and draws the left hand end of the frame member up against the arm 2| in the position shown in Fig. 2. At the same time the link l6 pushes backwardly against gang l2 and telescopes the tie-bar 39. In this way the harrow in nonworking position is readily trailed behind the tractor in a right hand turn.

As soon as the tractor resumes forward travel 7 chain 46 slackens and the front gang takes up relation between the draw bar I4 and the link l6.

By releasing the latch pin 42 the gangs l2 and l3 assume equal and opposite angular positions relative to the line of travelrand the latch 42 is .then engaged in a-hole 43 of the tie-bar 39 holding the two gangs in adjustment. As'the disks .of one gang are directed oppositely to those of Y the other gang, the reactions are equal and the line.of travel .is' controlled .by the draw bar f4. Adjustment of the latter controls the amount of offset.- Adjustment of the tie-bar 39 controls the extent of inclination of the gangs and conse- Means are provided to collapse the gangs l2 and I3 or in other .words close them into nonworking parallel position. This is effected by backward movement of the tractor and its crossbar H.1The backward push ofthe draw-bar l4 spreads the link l6 angularly from the draw-bar and at the same time brings the rock arm 2| against the front member 20 of the gang frame 12. In this operation the gang I2 moves to a position at right angles into the direction of travel. At the same time the operator releases the pin 42 by cord 44 thus permitting the tie-bar 39 to slide forwardly through the swiveled collar 4| As the draw bar 14 is pushed backwardly not only does the swiveled collar 4| slide backwardly over the tie-bar 39 but arcuate arm 26 and extension 35 slide with the traveller backwardly over the track 24. The connection at pin 34 thus becomes the joint of a" toggle so that the pin and the corresponding, corners of the gangstravel to the left until the front member of the rear gang and the rear 21 of the front gang are brought into parallelism. The adjustment pin 42 in the rear hole 43 thenlocks the two gangs together for joint travel in a. forward direction without harrowing. The open or working position of the gangs permits a turn to the left without undue "stress on the parts. However, it has been found in angularly arranged gangs of this type that the harrows'will not operate normally on a turn to the right, 7 Y Ifound that I can successfully turn the harrow to the'right by first releasing theadjusting pin 42to permit the collapse or closing movement of the gangs and then supplying added turning effort ,to the'left hand ends of the gangs. After the turning movement has been completed the gangs may then be opened or extended into working positions by the release of the pin 42 as above explained. To effect the turning of the gangs I have attached a bracket 45 to the left hand end of the cross-bar ll of the tractor. A chain 46 runs from the free end of the bracket '45 around a pulley or sheave 41 on the front frame member 20 of the At the same time the latch pin 42 is released and the rear gang extended to the desired limit for operation.

The above description relates to the preferred form of my invention wherein a disk harrow having two or more gangs may be trailed behind a tractor offset from the path of the latter. Pro- .vision has also been made forenabling the harrow to be adjusted for making right hand turns readily and for collapsing into closed or non-working position incidental to such a turn or for transport. While I have illustrated the preferred form of my'invention it will be understood as not limited to this form but capable of embodiment otherwise with appropriate changes in size, proportion or equivalent parts. I

What I claim is:

1. Inv combination with a tractor, a harrow comprising a frame, a transverse shaft journalled in the frame, a series of disks on the shaft, a draw-bar connected to the tractor, a link pivoted to the draw-bar and frame, an arm pivoted to the frame and to the draw-bar, a sheave on the front of the frame opposite the pivoted arm, and a chain around the sheave with its opposite end portions extending forwardly and attached to the pivoted arm and to the tractor at a point spaced laterally from the point of attachment of the drawbar to the tractor.

2. In combination with a tractor having a bracket at one side thereof, a harrow comprising a frame, a transverse shaft journalled in the frame, a series of disks on the shaft, an arm pivoted substantially at the mid-point of the frame and extending toward the end nearer'the bracket on the tractor, a draw-bar pivotedto the free end of the'arm and to the tractor inwardly of the bracket, 2. link pivoted to the draw-bar and to the frame on the side of the arm remote from the bracket, 2. sheave on the frame back of the arm and a flexible element, passing around the sheave and having end portions extending forwardly and attached to the bracket and to said arm, so as to'exert 'a forward pressure on said frame and a simultaneous rearward pressure on said arm upon turning of the tractor.

3. In combination with a tractor having a bracket atone side thereof. a gang harrow comprising front and rear frames pivotally connected together, means releasably holding the sections in spaced angular relationship, an arm pivoted pivot to the arm' and to the rear of the rear frame and means operable from the bracket on the turning movement of the tractor for bringing the frames together, with their axes substantially parallel.

4. A gang h'arrow comprising front and rear frames, pivotally connected together, means releasably holding the frames in spaced angular relationship, an arm pivoted substantially at the mid-point of the front frame and extending toward one end, a draw-bar pivoted to the free end of the arm, a link pivoted-to the draw-bar and to the frame, on th side opposite the arm, a track on the end of the front frame back of the arm, a carrier on the track, a link between the carrier and the free end of the arm, a bracket on the rear of the rear frame, a link connecting the bracket with the carrier and means for moving the carrier rearwardly over the track for bringing the frames substantially into parallelism.

5. A gang h'arrow comprising front and rear frames pivotally connected together at adjacent corners, means for drawing the front frame forward at an inclination to the line of travel, means for releasably holding the frames in spaced angular relationship, a link pivoted to the corner of the rear frame back of the pivoted connection between the frames, and extending to apoint on the side of the front frame in advance of the pivoted connection between the frames, a carrier on the side of the front frame for the link, and. means for bringing the frames together with their pivotal connection substantially in line with the carnor.

5. In combination with a tractor, having draft means, a gang harrow comprising front and rear frames pivotally connected together, means for drawing said front frame, from a point on said draft means, forwardly at an inclination to the line of travel, said pivotal connection being adapted for holding said frames together in a common substantially horizontal plane, an arm pivoted to the front frame and connected to the means for drawing the front frame, releasable means for holding the frames, at will, in spaced 1 angular relation, and means connecting from a point on said tractor spaced laterally from the point on said draft means from which said front frame is drawn, and connected with said arm and said front frame for forcing said arm and frame toward each other as a result of turning of said tractor in one direction.

7. In combination with a tractor, having draft means, a, gang harrow comprising front and rear frames pivotally connected together, means for drawing said front frame, from a point Qn said draft means, forwardly at an inclination to the line of travel, an arm pivoted to thefront frame and connected tothe means for drawing the front frame, releasable meansv for holding the frames, at will, in spaced angular relation, and means connecting from a point on said tractor spaced laterally from the point on said draft means from which said front frame is drawn, and connected with said arm and said front frame, for forcing said arm and frame toward each other as a result of turning of said tractor in one direction.

8. A gang harrovv for cooperation with a tractor, said harrow comprising a front frameand a rear frame connected together, each including a shaft carrying a gang of disks, a draw bar connected to the tractor, a link pivoted to the draw bar and to the front frame, an arm pivoted to the front frame and extending in a direction transverse to the line of travel, a connection from said arm to a portion of said rear frame, said arm also being pivoted to said draw bar, and flexible means connected to the tractor and spaced laterally from the point of connection of said draw bar therewith, a sheave journaled on the front frame said means being extended to said sheave andabout said sheave to said arm, so as to force said front frame forwardly and said arm and said portion of said rear frame backwardly, upon turning movement of the tractor in one direction, and releasable means for holding the frames at will in spaced angular relation.

9. A gang harrow for cooperation with a tractor, said harrow comprising a front frame and a rear frame connected together, each including a shaft carrying a gang of disks, a draw bar connected to the tractor, a link pivoted to the draw bar and to the front frame, an arm pivoted to the front frame and extending in a direction transverse to the line of travel, a connection from said arm to a portion of said rear frame, said arm also being pivoted tosaid draw bar, and flexible means connected to the tractor and spaced laterally from the point of connection of said draw bartherewith, a sheave journaled on the front frame, said means extending rearwardly to said sheave, about said sheave and then forwardly to and being connected with said arm, so as to force said front frame forwardly and said arm and said portion of said rear frame backwardly, upon turning movement of the tractor in one direction.

ALVAI-I E BUTTER. 

